10 goal-setting mistakes startup founders make (and how to avoid them)

With 2025 now underway, startup founders are reflecting on their resolutions for the year ahead — but the way founders approach goal-setting can be the deciding factor between success and failure. 

Founders need to set their sights on measurable achievements and make sure there’s buy-in from the rest of the team if they want to hit those landmarks, early-stage startup experts in the Pittsburgh region said at a webinar last week. 

Victoria Kallsen, founder of Build Bedrock, a company that helps startups get their first 50 customers, and Max Polec, an executive coach for The CEO Strategy, said setting vague, unfocused goals is a common mistake and ultimately ineffective for startup growth. 

“We’ve often forgotten what a good goal even is,” Kallsen said. 

Using the example of aiming for $500,000 in revenue over the next year, they broke down how the right approach to setting goals can determine a startup’s outcomes. 

Here are the top 10 ways to avoid mistakes when setting goals, according to Kallsen and Polec. 

Set specific goals with actionable benchmarks 

If a founder’s goal in 2025 is to make $500,000 in revenue, simply setting the goal to “hit $500,000 in revenue” isn’t specific enough. 

Instead, it’s better to break the goal down into clear, measurable targets tied to specific income streams, according to Kallsen. 

Kallsen recommends reframing revenue goals by focusing on concrete actions, like setting targets for the amount of new business a startup needs to close or the number of clients it needs to onboard. For example, instead of aiming for a vague $500,000 goal, a founder might set a goal to secure 10 new clients, each contributing an average of $50,000 in revenue. 

Early-stage startups should be focused on closing new businesses, as this is often the biggest driver of growth, and its goals should reflect that specificity, Kallsen said. 

Objectives work best when they’re specific and time-bound 

Many founders focus on desired outcomes, like hitting a revenue target, without considering the actions needed to achieve them. One way to avoid this pitfall is by using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) framework, Polec suggested.

“If we’re talking about the objective, or the finish line, it should be very clear what that finish line is,” Polec said. “Objectives are going to be specific, they’re going to be time-bound, they’re also going to be aggressive and realistic.”

For example, a founder can break down a big revenue goal into objectives like securing new business, retaining existing business and upselling existing business. These objectives outline what the founder wants to achieve but don’t detail how to achieve it.

Under each objective, a founder should define measurable actions that track progress. Key results represent the inputs, or the specific strategies and milestones needed to reach the objective. 

By focusing on both the “what” and the “how,” founders ensure their goals are actionable and grounded in the daily activities that will drive growth, Polec said. 

Smaller deadlines along the way keep the goal top of mind 

Setting goals for the entire year can be vague and difficult to track, especially for brand-new startups. 

Research shows that breaking bigger goals into smaller, more manageable chunks is more effective, as the brain can better comprehend shorter time frames, Kallsen said. 

“For startups, the tough thing about goal setting is they typically lack historical data,” Polec said. “It’s hard for us to say what we plan our annual revenue to be if we are pre-revenue or if we only have a few months of data.” 

Like a marathon that has mile markers throughout the race, Polec recommends founders set quarterly OKRs and revisit them regularly. This approach allows startups to gather critical data on their progress and adjust strategies as needed.  

Put goals somewhere you’ll see them every day

It’s common for founders to set goals and then forget about them. 

“It’s often that goals are put into an online tool, onto a company notion page, and no one actually knows where they are or what they’re actually performing against,” Kallsen said. 

To avoid this, founders should keep their goals visible and easily accessible for them and their team. Whether it’s a shared dashboard, a regularly updated document or a prominent spot in meetings, the key is visibility, Kallsen said.

Prioritize which ambitions are most crucial to success 

While ambition is a crucial characteristic for founders, it can be a double-edged sword when it comes to goal-setting. Setting too many goals can scatter a founder’s focus, making it harder to prioritize the most important OKRs that will drive growth. 

Too many competing goals can lead to burnout and confusion, ultimately slowing a startup’s progress. Instead, founders should focus on fewer high-priority objectives that directly align with their startup’s mission. 

“[Founders] have lots of dreams, but really setting fewer goals will get you farther because it’s all about that narrowed focus,” Kallsen said. 

Listen to what the team says they can actually accomplish 

When a founder sets goals with their team, dictating goals can be counterproductive. 

“Make sure members of your team feel listened to when you’re setting those goals,” Kallsen said. “These people are the eyes and ears of your organization as much as you are the leader and founder, and keeping that awareness when setting your next quarters’ goals can pay a lot of dividends.” 

One effective approach is the “Start, Stop, Continue” method. Founders can ask their team what they think the startup should start doing, stop doing and continue doing to achieve its goals. 

This collaborative approach not only encourages buy-in from employees but also provides valuable insights into the most effective strategies for a startup’s success. 

Stay focused on the top priorities 

As a founder, it’s easy to get distracted by the endless tasks and new ideas that can come up on a daily basis, but these distractions can derail progress. 

“Not getting distracted by new ideas too often or letting them distract you from those objectives you laid out can be really important for making sure you reach the end of that milestone,” Kallsen said. 

To stay on track, Kallsen suggested founders regularly audit their calendars and ask themselves whether their daily tasks align with their goals. 

If less important tasks are filling up a founder’s calendar, they should delegate or swap them for higher-priority tasks. 

Frequent performance audits tell a startup when to pivot

One of the benefits of running a startup is the ability to quickly pivot when strategies aren’t working. Founders can take advantage of this flexibility by consistently reviewing their performance compared to their goals. 

As a startup collects more data, it’s important for founders to check in after each project or at regular intervals to reflect on what’s working and what needs improvement, Polec said. This allows for adjustment before minor issues become major setbacks. 

By tracking key metrics like revenue, customer acquisition and retention rates, founders can compare their performance to historical data, Kallsen said. 

Without ongoing assessments, startups risk missing opportunities to improve performance. 

Realistic, not just inspirational, goals keep up momentum 

While ambitious targets can drive innovation, it’s crucial to set goals that are realistic enough to maintain a startup’s positive momentum, according to Kallsen. 

“Choosing a target for your revenue that’s achievable is going to start snowballing into more and more success,” Kallsen said. 

When setting revenue goals, Kallsen said founders to ask themselves: Is this a vanity metric, or is it something truly achievable? Setting unattainable goals can lead to lower morale, especially if a team is constantly falling short. 

Set goals now, instead of waiting to perfect them

Taking too long to set OKRs can derail a startup’s ability to achieve its goals. In Kallsen’s experience, setting goals too late cuts down on the amount of time the startup has to achieve them. 

“There can be a real perfectionism or a real desire to create the perfect goals instead of acting,” Kallsen said. 

Kallsen suggested founders challenge their perfectionism by jotting down goals in 10 minutes or less to see what they can come up with. 

When founders feel about 70% to 80% confident in moving forward with their drafted OKRs, they should begin to act, Polec suggested.

“Perfection is the enemy of done,” Polec said. “The most important thing, and I can’t stress this enough, especially for founders, is going to be execution.”